Effects of Maternally Transferred Egg Selenium on Embryo-Larval Survival, Growth, and Development in Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus).

Selenium (Se) toxicity to fish is primarily manifested via maternal transfer to the eggs, which may result in adverse effects on larval survival and development. The present study assessed the effects of egg Se concentrations derived via maternal transfer on early life-stage development, survival, and growth of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), a salmonid species not previously assessed for Se sensitivity. Fish gametes were collected from 4 streams in Alaska known to exhibit a range of egg Se concentrations. Eggs were fertilized and reared in the laboratory from hatch through post-swim-up. Larvae were assessed for survival, length, and weight, as well as deformities (skeletal, craniofacial, fin-fold) and edema based on a graduated severity index. Eggs from a total of 47 females were collected, with egg Se concentrations ranging from 3.3 to 33.9 mg kg-1 dry weight. No relationships were observed between larval endpoints evaluated and parent females' egg, muscle, or whole-body Se concentrations. Therefore, Se 10% effective concentrations (EC10s) were defined as the maximum measured Se concentrations: >33.9, >17.6, and >19.7 mg kg-1 dry weight for eggs, muscle, and whole-body tissue, respectively. Collectively, these data indicate that Arctic grayling are relatively insensitive to maternally transferred Se compared to other fish species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:380-389. © 2020 SETAC.

Long-term monitoring of arsenic, copper, selenium, and other elements in Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA) surface water, brine shrimp, and brine flies.

This paper presents long-term monitoring data for 19 elements with a focus on arsenic (As), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se), in surface water (2002-2011), brine shrimp (2001-2011), and brine flies (1995-1996) collected from Great Salt Lake (GSL, Utah, USA). In open surface waters, mean (±standard deviation [SD]; range; n) As concentrations were 112 (±22.1; 54.0-169; 47) and 112 µg/L (±35.6; 5.1-175; 68) in filtered and unfiltered surface water samples, respectively, and 16.3 µg/g (±5.6; 5.1-35.2; 62) dry weight (dw) in brine shrimp. Mean (±SD; range; n) Cu concentrations were 4.2 (±2.1; 1.3-12.5; 47) and 6.9 µg/L (±6.6; 1.9-38.1; 68) in filtered and unfiltered surface water samples, respectively, and 20.6 µg/g (±18.4; 5.4-126; 62) dw in brine shrimp. Finally, mean (±SD; range; n) dissolved and total recoverable Se concentrations were 0.6 (±0.1; 0.4-1.2; 61) and 0.9 µg/L (±0.7; 0.5-3.6; 89), respectively, and 3.6 µg/g (±2.2; 1.1-14.9; 98) dw in brine shrimp. Thus, Se in open lake surface waters was most often in the range of 0.5-1 µg/L, and concentrations in both surface water and brine shrimp were comparable to concentrations measured in other monitoring programs for the GSL. Temporally, the statistical significance of differences in mean dissolved or total recoverable As, Cu, and Se concentrations between years was highly variable depending which test statistic was used, and there was no clear evidence of increasing or decreasing trends. In brine shrimp, significant differences in annual mean concentrations of As, Cu, and Se were observed using both parametric and nonparametric statistical approaches, but, as for water, there did not appear to be a consistent increase or decrease in concentrations of these elements over time.

Setting site-specific water-quality standards by using tissue residue thresholds and bioaccumulation data. Part 2. Calculating site-specific selenium water-quality standards for protecting fish and birds.

In a companion paper, a method for deriving tissue residue-based site-specific water-quality standards (SSWQSs) was described. In this paper, the methodology is applied to selenium (Se) as an example. Models were developed to describe Se bioaccumulation in aquatic-dependent bird eggs and whole fish. A simple log-linear model best described Se accumulation in bird eggs (r2 = 0.50). For fish, separate hockey stick regressions were developed for lentic (r2 = 0.65) and lotic environments (r2 = 0.37). The low r2 value for the lotic fish model precludes its reliable use at this time. Corresponding tissue residue criteria (i.e., tissue thresholds) for bird eggs and whole fish also were identified and example model predictions were made. The models were able to predict SSWQSs over a wide range of water-tissue combinations that might be encountered in the environment. The models also were shown to be sensitive to variability in measured tissue residues with relatively small changes in variability (as characterized by the standard error) resulting in relatively large differences in SSWQSs.

Analysis of field and laboratory data to derive selenium toxicity thresholds for birds.

In this paper, we critically evaluate the statistical approaches and datasets previously used to derive chronic egg selenium thresholds for mallard ducks (laboratory data) and black-necked stilts (field data). These effect concentration thresholds of 3%, 10% (EC10), or 20% have been used by regulatory agencies to set avian protection criteria and site remediation goals, thus the need for careful assessment of the data. The present review indicates that the stilt field dataset used to establish a frequently cited chronic avian egg selenium threshold of 6 mg/kg dry weight lacks statistical robustness (r2 = 0.19-0.28 based on generalized linear models), suggesting that stilt embryo sensitivity to selenium is highly variable or that factors other than selenium are principally responsible for the increase in effects observed at the lower range of this dataset. Hockey stick regressions used with the stilt field dataset improve the statistical relationship (r2 = 0.90-0.97) but result in considerably higher egg selenium thresholds (EC10 = 21-31 mg/kg dry wt). Laboratory-derived (for mallards) and field-derived (for stilts) teratogenicity EC10 values are quite similar (16-24 mg/kg dry wt). Laboratory data regarding mallard egg inviability and duckling mortality data provide the most sensitive and statistically robust chronic threshold (EC10) with logit, probit, and hockey stick regressions fitted to laboratory data, resulting in mean egg selenium EC10 values of 12 to 15 mg/kg dry weight (r2 = 0.75-0.90).